High School Basketball Has Changed, But It’s Still Fun!

WOW! High school basketball has certainly changed! My wife and I have been to quite a few North Montgomery boys and girls basketball games this season. Two of our grandkids, Drew Norman, who is a senior, and Macee Norman, who is a freshman, both start on the varsity teams. After watching the first two games, I realized that the style of play has evolved into a defensive game rather than offensive game.

During the majority of the entire game, the defense is a man-to-man full court press. As soon as a team inbounds the ball, the opposing team is on them like ticks on a dog. It is a struggle for each team to even get the ball down the court to set up any scoring plays. The defensive pressure is relentless as the players pass the ball around, looking for an open shot. Oftentimes the final score of each team is 50 points or less! Many times the leading scorer on a team may have tallied only 15-16 points during the game.

You “old-timers” out there can recall players in the 1950s and 1960s who were outstanding scorers. Here are a few and their SEASON AVERAGE: Bill Greve (Waveland) 27.8 in 1954 and 30.4 in 1955, Charlie Bowerman (Alamo) 21.6 in 1956 and 27.0 in 1957, Whitey Reath (Alamo) 23.2 in 1958 and 23.7 in 1959, Steve Pierce (Waynetown) 22.3 in 1962, Mike Mitchell (Waveland) 27.8 in 1968, Daryl Warren (Linden) 29.7 in 1970 and 29.0 in 1971, and Terry Cain (Darlington) 25.9 in 1971. There were several others during those years who averaged around 20 points per game…even yours truly in 1966 when I averaged 19.8 points. (OK, OK…yes, I never passed up an open shot!)

Without a doubt the highest scoring Montgomery County basketball teams of all time were the Darlington Indian teams of 1969 and 1970. They were undefeated during the regular season both of those years, with players such as Rich Douglas, Dan Nichols, Don Threlkeld, Gary Dale, and Roy Wright almost scoring at will in a “run-and-gun” offense. During the 1969 season, the Indians scored in the 90s five times…and 100 or more five times…one game beating North Salem 117-49. And they didn’t slow down at all the next year, scoring in the 90s seven times…and 100 or more four times. In a game against Ladoga, the Indians outscored the Canners by a final score of 126 to 63. For Darlington, that equates to two 2-point baskets every minute of a 32-minute game. There was no such thing as a 3-point basket in those days. Many of the Darlington baskets were from behind the arc and would have been counted as 3-pointers today. The final tally could easily have been close to 150 points!

Well, I’m not complaining about the switch from an offensive game to a defensive game. Each player gives 100% effort, and I can sense the players are nearly exhausted at game’s end from the constant defensive pressure. But it would be fun to see another Bill Greve, Daryl Warren, Matt McCarty, or D.J. Byrd sinking those long-range 3-pointers. It’s still very entertaining to watch high school basketball today. When standing for the National Anthem, with my Coke and buttered popcorn ready and waiting, I’m happy to be there to enjoy Hoosier Hysteria. Haven’t been in a while? Come on out….you’ll have a great time!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.